The United States has proposed a “package deal” to Israel that would close the case of Jonathan Jay Pollard, the American convicted of spying for Israel, Maariv reported Thursday.
A U.S. federal prosecutor secretly visited Israel recently to try to arrange a deal, which is said to involve ranking Israelis associated with Pollard.
The 33-year-old former civilian intelligence analyst employed by the U.S. Navy was sentenced to life imprisonment on March 4, 1987. His wife, Anne Henderson-Pollard, is serving two concurrent five year sentences as an accomplice.
Sources close to the Pollard case say U.S. officials are willing to “close the books” in return for certain Israeli actions. According to Maariv, the Americans want Israel to fire Rafi Eitan, executive director of Israel Chemicals, one of the largest and most prestigious government-owned corporations.
U.S. officials were outraged when Eitan, the former head of the Lekem secret spy ring that employed Pollard, was appointed to the chemicals post.
At the same time, Air Force Col. Aviem Sella, indicted in absentia as a co-conspirator in the Pollard case, was promoted to command Israel’s largest air base in the Negev. Sella was forced to resign when the Americans announced they would have nothing to do with the U.S.-financed base while Sella was in command.
According to Maariv, the United States also wants the extradition law altered so that Israelis who allegedly break the law in the United States can be returned to the United States from Israel to stand trial. However, the United States is said to be willing to accept an understanding whereby Israelis convicted in the United States can serve their sentences in Israeli prisons.
Israel for its part, is asking the Americans not to revoke the immunity they granted Eitan and Yossi Yagur and Irit Erb, Israel Embassy employees who fled after Pollard was arrested in 1986. In addition, Israel insists that former Chief of Staff Moshe Levy and Air Force Commander Amos Lapidot be allowed to enter the United States without fear of arrest or investigation.
The officials apparently did not discuss the fate of the Pollards, although many Israelis and Americans have joined forces in their support, contending their sentences were too harsh.
Pollard’s sister, Carol Pollard, 38, is visiting Israel this week seeking support for her brother and sister-in-law. Anne Pollard has been hospitalized with complaints of a painful digestive disorder, biliary dyskinesia.
Carol Pollard met Wednesday with Justice Minister Avraham Sharir, who told her he would make every effort to alleviate the Pollards’ suffering. But he stressed he could not intervene in the American judicial process.
She visited the Knesset Monday, hosted by Geula Cohen of the Tehiya Party and 20 other members who resolved to establish an informal pro-Pollard lobby. She met briefly with Speaker Shlomo Hillel.
Sources close to Minister of Commerce and Industry Ariel Sharon of Herut reported that he believes Eitan’s resignation from Israel Chemicals might lead to a reduction in the Pollards’ sentences. Sharon was instrumental in securing the high-paying job for Eitan.
Maariv reported that U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and Attorney General Edwin Meese III always sought to play down the Pollard affair and are now involved in efforts to bring it to a close.
The paper also suggested that the resignation last year of Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger may soften Washington’s determination to punish Israel. Weinberger’s testimony that Pollard’s espionage activities gravely compromised U.S. security was considered partly responsible for his life sentence.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
